Gray Monk has several lines, and the "Odyssey" series is their best. And there, 2001 was a cooler year (than 02 and and 03, say) which produced restrained wines of classic structure. It took a good hour for this wine to open up and show it's fruit--at first, I got but strong, bitter coffee. Eventually the sweet, floral merlot nose appeared along with plummy and blackberry fruit, sweet herbs and just a hint of unsweetened dark chocolate. Good acidity, medium body and tannins made the wine much closer to St. Emilion than Sonoma in style, with youthful tannins and hints of secondary development just around the corner. Showed better with food than without, but it was quite good to just sip and discuss the events of the day over. Price: about $25 at the winery last summer.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

I was looking at this one the other day but decided on the Montes Alpha. However I did cast my eye over Cedar Creek as well as Quails Gate so I have some interesting buying coming up for WT 101. The Tinhorn Creek Merlot used to set the standard for this varietal but not any more (by all accounts).